What Could Have Been
by Fiddle-faddle
Summary: Daine reflects on what could have been.


_Author's Note: So this is my first TP fic. I love her books, so I really hope to write several fics. I hope you guys enjoy._

Summary: Daine reflects on what could have been.

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What Could Have Been

It was two weeks after the battle at Port Legann. Daine was out in the fields with the Rider's ponies. It was her first chance a free time since the battle. There had been many skirmishes since then. Mostly they had involved immortals, but several had been bands of bandits trying to escape Tortall in the aftermath of the war. Daine had been doing a lot of travelling in hopes of helping with the immortals. She arrived back in Corus just the day before.

There were not a lot of people at the palace at the moment. Most of the knights, including Alanna the Lioness, were still out patrolling the kingdom, making sure that there was not more trouble. The Queen was still as Port Legann with a couple Rider groups. They were cleaning up and helping rebuild. Numair had gone to his tower to pick up a couple of books. He had invited Daine, but she wanted to come back to the palace. And the king had asked if she would not mind returning to the palace with him. Apparently he wanted her help in scouting around Corus.

Scouting is what had occupied her afternoon yesterday. She looked around Corus for any trouble in the form of immortals or bandits and rebels. She also scouted inside Corus looking for any areas that seemed either rebellious or damaged from the siege that Corus had suffered. All of this she did in the form of a golden eagle. The ability to glide and see long distances were ideal for this sort of thing. She reported what she saw to the king and now she had some time to herself.

Daine absentmindedly petted the ponies and moved through them without paying attention. She reviewed in her mind the war and its losses. She still grieved for Rikash. In the end he was a friend and he died helping her and Tortall. He was a hero and she hoped that he would be remembered as such. Daine had personally told Maura about RIkash. They had been about a day's ride from Dunlath less than a week after the battle at Legann. She took the form of a hawk and grabbed a bag of clothes and flew there. Maura had been devastated. Daine never fully understood Maura's relationship with Rikash, but knew that they had meant a lot to each other.

There were other losses as well. She thought briefly about them, but when she began to tear up, she moved on to a different subject: her discovery of her parents.

She loved her ma, and her da and was so happy that she got a chance to see them.

She was sad that she would never be able to visit them, but did not regret her choice. Her home was in the Mortal Realms, in Tortall. Just thinking of that made her realize how lucky she was. She had been so jealous of Alanna and Ouna when she had first arrived, and now she had what she had so desperately wanted: a home and a family.

Suddenly Daine considered what might have been. She was so happy in Tortall, but she came here because bandits killed her family in Snowsdale. Here she found her place where no one cared that her da had been unknown for so long and that she had gone mad and hunted bandits with a pack of wolves. But what if her family in Snowsdale had not been killed? Where would she be now?

First off, she would never have come to Tortall. She would never have seen Corus or the ocean. She would never have met Ouna or Alanna or Jon or Thayet. Or Numair. What if she had never met Numair? She would never have learned about wild magic. She would have never have learned to heal. She would have never learned to love. She could not imagine what would have happened without Numair. She loved him. Who would she have ended up with otherwise?

Actually, now that she thought about it, what _would_ have happened if her family had not been killed? She would probably have still been in Snowsdale. No one in Snowsdale would have married Sarra's bastard. Even if she had met her da, the god Weiryn, she doubts that the rest of Snowsdale would have been allowed to know. She probably would not have married, and definitely not happily.

Wait, would she have met her da? When would the "time have been right?" Maybe she would have never learned about her da. That would have been sad. It made her happy to know that she had someone looking out for her. Speaking of looking out for her, what about the Badger? Would he still have mentored her? Since she did not know about wild magic in Snowsdale, would he have even cared?

But then, she thought about the events of the last few years. The siege on Pirate's Swoop probably would have still happened. Without her help would they have survived? She did bring the Kraken and stop the dragon from attacking them. What would have happened to Thayet and Baron George, what about Thom, Roald, and Kalasin?

What about Kitten? She would be dead, having been so before Daine healed her in her ma. No Kitten? Tears came to her eyes. That would have just been horrible. Kitten was her charge, but she more than that. Daine loved Kitten. For her to not have been in the world. That is just horrible.

Then with the events of Dunlath, would the rebellion have been prevented or would they have succeeded and taken over Tortall. And if they survived that, what about Ozorne?

Meanwhile Daine would have grown old alone.

Daine shuddered at the thought. Everyone she cared about would probably be dead, or at the very least, they would be miserable. Tortall, the country that accepted her for who she was, might have been destroyed.

Daine realized that she loved what she has. Everyone is happy. Her ma is with her da finally. She is with her friends who she now considers her family. She has a home. She is happy.

"Daine! Come on. Dinner!" called Ouna. Daine smiled. "And I heard that Numair is back and Alanna and George came back earlier today."

Daine's smile grew. Yes, she was very happy with what she had.

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